Smollett Takes New Mug Shot, Receives Protective Custody As He Begins 5-Month Prison Sentence
After he’s released later this summer, I wonder if he’ll finally admit he’s guilty? He could say he was/is mentally ill (which is probably true) and he believed, at the time, that he was innocent. This would at least give him a new round of attention, and maybe some people would feel sorry for him? For now, here’s what he has to look forward to until August:
A spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office told The Times on Friday that Smollett would undergo a routine booking process, which includes a comprehensive medical, mental health and security assessment. He would be placed in appropriate confinement, tested for COVID-19 at intake and offered a vaccination if he hasn’t been vaccinated or received a booster shot.
The entertainer, the brother of “Lovecraft Country” star Jurnee Smollett, is being housed in a medical facility on site at the jail, where individuals with higher levels of medical or mental health needs receive treatment, the spokesperson said. But the facility also can be used for protective custody, which is what Smollett’s attorneys requested Thursday.
“Mr. Smollett is being housed in his own cell, which is monitored by security cameras in the cell and by an officer wearing a body-worn camera who is stationed at the entrance of the cell to ensure that Mr. Smollett is under direct observation at all times,” the spokesperson said. “As with all detained persons, Mr. Smollett is entitled to have substantial time out of his cell in the common areas on the tier where he is housed, where he is able to use the telephone, watch television and interact with staff.”
When Smollett is out of his cell, other detainees won’t be around — a protocol routinely used by the jail for people in protective custody who may potentially be at risk of harm due to the nature of their charges, their profession or their noteworthy status, the spokesperson added.
[LA Times: Jussie Smollett takes mug shot and spends first night in jail for staging fake crime]
